Track, field champs preps gather momentum

Sports Correspondent
PREPARATIONS for the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) track and field championships set for White City Stadium in Bulawayo on September 27 are at an advanced stage with the Bulawayo Athletics Board (BAB) opening the athletes’ registration process.

The event is set to mark the end of a successful NAAZ season that kicked off in February with the regional cross country championships for cadets, juniors and youths in Harare before the first track and field championships at White City.

Athletes also represented Zimbabwe at the 12th edition of the Confederation of African Athletics Junior Championships in Ethiopia in March.

In May, local athletes took part in the Southern Region Senior Championships in Mauritius before heading to Beijing, China, for the just-ended International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Senior Championships.

A total of 200 athletes from around the country are expected to take part in the event being organised by the NAAZ women’s committee in liaison with BAB.

National 100m specialist Kenneth Chibwana, who is part of the Team Zimbabwe contingent at the ongoing African Games in Congo Brazzaville, is also expected to be part of the extravaganza.

BAB chairperson Manuel Mpofu said: “As the host province, we’ve started our preparations and we can tell you that everything is in place for the event. We’ve just finished the booking for the stadium and we’re now focusing on logistical issues that include transport and accommodation for the expected athletes. We’d like to urge all athletics clubs and provinces to forward names of their athletes for affiliation so that we finish everything on time.”